A hotel under construction in the city's downtown appears to be no longer in danger of going to the birds.
A pair of northern flicker woodpeckers recently drilled about a half-dozen holes in a section of the Marriott Courtyard's exterior - apparently looking for a spot to build a nest.
If they followed up and start laying eggs, they would have had to be left alone until the chicks hatched and the family has left the nest because they are a protected species under the federal Migratory Bird Convention Act.
However, it appears they've moved on and the holes they made in building's top northwest corner have since been patched up.
It's not the first time the project's general contractor has had to deal with the species.
"They like that EIFS," said Richard Allen of UPA Construction Group Ltd. "We've done some other jobs where they love digging into that."
EIFS stands for exterior insulation and finish system and is often called "synthetic stucco."
As for warding the birds off, "our guys just try to make a lot of noise so they don't want to sit around there," Allen said.
Chasing the birds off once they've nested could lead to a stiff penalty under the federal Migratory Bird Convention Act. Minimum fines range from $5,000 to $25,000 to $100,000 depending on whether the offender is an individual, small-revenue corporation or regular corporation.
Conservation officer James Brady suggested the hotel's location helped make it a target.
"Northern flickers try to create a nest close to parks and places where their natural food is," Brady said. "And there's Connaught Hill and the river and everything else that's close to it."
Workers are currently putting the finishing touches on the six storey, 174-room, $35-million structure at Tenth Avenue and Brunswick Street. It's scheduled to be open for business in mid-May.
